Counselor offers advice to Valley parents amidst rash of school threats

With a wave of school threats across school districts in the Valley, stress, fear and anxiety are among the emotions that are felt by parents, students and staff.

Sitting down and addressing the threats in the Valley and the nation is a different situation with many parents finding it hard to have these uncomfortable but needed conversations.

Among the school districts that received threats are the Donna, PSJA, Brownsville and Mercedes districts, as well as IDEA Public Schools.

Jacqueline Hernandez, a parent of a PSJA student, was already feeling tense from the threats at a neighboring school district. Her stress was elevated at the beginning of this week when she saw rumored threats to her child’s school district online.

Right away, Hernandez began calling her daughter’s elementary school to inquire about the threats and what the protocols were in those situations.

Hernandez said she was told extra security was added at the school. She then called the central office to learn about protocol in these situations. Hernandez said she got the runaround.

“I was so confused and kind of upset just because I was asking what are the protocols? Or has there been any threats to elementary schools?” Hernandez said.

“This message is to inform you that this morning on Wednesday, September, 11, 2024, the individual responsible for the recent social media threats was arrested by the PSJA Police Department and will be charged with a felony for making a terroristic threat to impede public service or cause fear of serious bodily injury,” PSJA said in a message that day.

Hernandez found herself reflecting on the best way to speak with her daughter as she prepared for the awkward conversation over what happened and about school threats in general.

“I personally have not had that conversation with her, because it’s really hard,” she said. “So now I’m reading articles on how to have specific conversations with your kids, or how to prepare them, and to think that I’m even contemplating on doing that. And my child is only 9 years old. You shouldn’t have to be worrying about any of that.”

Donna ISD investigated and arrested two students last week for making separate threats at both high schools

Melanie Ballardo, the Donna ISD Student Support Services supervisor who has a certification in counseling, gave advice on how to better handle these situations.

Ballardo said with any situation on this matter, parents and students are going to feel anxious, fearful and helpless with every parent approaching it differently.

“Some of the advice that I would give to parents … for them to become more involved in the school system,” she said. “Anxiety is basically a response in our body that’s telling us we need to prepare ourselves for action, but how do we do that? … Understanding and being proactive, of our protocols, of our systems, could ease their anxiety.”

At home, Ballardo said reassurance is one important factor in easing those emotions when parents talk to their children.

“It’s vital for them to listen to their child with empathy and provide them with constant reassurance,” she said.

Ballardo added that if parents see that their child is still having a hard time, she suggests reaching out to their campus counselor and providing them with other coping skills or resilience skills that can reduce their anxiety.

When having those uncomfortable but needed conversations with their children, Ballardo said to keep their age in mind and use age appropriate language for the students.

“A lot of the parents are scared to talk about verbalizing a school shooting or because school safety can stem from violence to even hazardous weather,” she said. “Appropriate language is that they understand their child as good as anybody else, so they understand what level of understanding they’re going to have.

For elementary or middle school aged students, Ballardo suggests focusing not on the intent or the violent act but to focus more on how to help them deal with emotions.

“Focusing on what is going to happen, it has not happened,” she said. “That’s going to continue to create that continuous fear, that continues anxiety. So focusing on that, on how today you’re feeling anxious. What can we do to help you today?”

For older high school students, Ballardo suggested giving the advice to be more vigilant and to also express their feelings or suspicion to the appropriate adult on campus or in the area.

“Whether they’re are high schoolers, they still have the same emotions and the same feelings,” she said. “It’s going to be more addressing them in terms of how you feel a certain way, but also be aware of your surroundings and make sure that you know where to go and find the resources.”